TUCK in to a feast of folk, jazz, rock, punk, indie and pop this weekend, with the return of Stroud Fringe.

The festival kicks off on Friday with three days of mostly free music, and sees homegrown talent mingling with quality acts from further afield on three stages located in the heart of the town, and 10 other venues.

Big beat ska, funk and hip-hop band Largo Embargo will headline Bank Gardens on Friday, with folk rockers The Outcast Band taking the stage on Saturday night. Steve and The Achievers will close the festival on Sunday with a set of upbeat blues, soul and roots.

Other acts to perform on the Bank Gardens stage include Stroud’s own Four Mile Horse and Cheltenham-based Small Talk Robot.

Pete Taylor, Ben Maggs, The Indigo Kings and The Leaking Machine will be part of a more eclectic, second-day line-up. Whereas Sunday will focus more on folk and blues, with performances by Taeppeda, Benita Johnson and Missin’ Rosie, as well as Radio 2 Young Folk Award nominee Hattie Briggs.

And, following a Facebook campaign by local DJ Jamie Fletcher, an electronic music stage will form part of this year’s programme.

“Electronic music is a very wide field of genres and it also plays a huge part in a lot of modern contemporary music,” said Jamie.

“It will be great to showcase some of the various acts and what they have to offer.”

Hosted by the Sub Rooms, the electronic music stage will feature Jamie and other local DJs.

Emerging talent will be given a platform at The Cornhill, where The Big Jam showcase features performances from Sheena, Doll House, The Watts, Sophronie and Huw.

Programmes will be available at the Sub Rooms and from shops in town.

Go to stroudfringe.co.uk for more information on the festival.